Alice in Wonderland : Alice's Legacy
by Kayla Sparrow
Summary: They say each ending is only a new beginning,and that's true for Alice as well.A year after her departure,she comes back.Underland soon calls for her aid once more,and she faithfully returns to her world...but when she does,Hatter's worst fear comes true.
1. Chapter 1: Dreaming Wide Awake

**A/N:** _Hello to all ! As anticipated on my profile, I am very proud to finally present the first chapter to my first Alice in Wonderland fanfiction! I am very excited to be starting this new story, I loved the movie and I think all of the characters are great to work with… and I am looking forward to doing so ASAP!_

**Disclaimer: **_Everything you recognize belongs to Tim Burton and Disney._

_Please take the time to enjoy the story, and leave a review to let me know what you think! Happy reading, and to our next update!  
xxx –  
Kayla_

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**INTRODUCTION**

_Once upon a time… No… Many years ago… No, that won't do either… 'Twas the Age of the White Queen's reign… No, no, no!_

_How __does__ one begin a story about a place where there's no such thing as time? _

_Well, I suppose 'time' isn't all that important, after all. Certainly not for this story._

_This story, a story about how a young woman set sail for a new beginning, and ended up living an adventure beyond her wildest imagination. She was looking, you see. She was looking for answers, looking for a place in the world, and most of all looking for herself. But soon, she will discover that some questions simply do not have answers, that the only place you have in the world is where your heart lays, and - quite ironically - that sometimes, all you need to do to find yourself…. is take a good look in a mirror._

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**CHAPTER 1 : DREAMING WIDE AWAKE**

"Port ahoy!"

The sailor's cry echoed from the crow's nest down to the deck below. The _Wonder, _guided by a brisk autumn breeze,sailed smoothly along the water and glided through the port's entrance. The sailors all busied themselves to dock the vessel safely, and within a few minutes they were harbored. A ladder was quickly lowered to the dock.

Slowly, a young woman descended from it, steadying herself so as not to lose her balance in the process. When she finally touched land she straightened herself up and looked around, eyes wandering across the familiar view of the English port. As usual, the place was crowded with people from all over, sailors, tourists, merchants, each one coming and going from somewhere around the world. A clashing of sounds filled the air, from the yells of sailors to the splashing of the sea against the docks to the lively chatter of the crowd to the distant cry of seagulls hovering above the docks. She smiled slightly to herself.

"_It's good to be back,"_ Alice Kingsley thought contentedly.

"Miss Kingsley?"

The young woman turned around and came face to face with the ship's Captain.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Your luggage is being taken care of, Miss. I have arranged for a chaperone to meet you here and take you to your home."

"Thank you, Captain."

He bowed his head slightly, "No trouble, Miss. I suppose I shall see you again sometime, then?"

"Possibly," she responded, "If all goes well."

"Excellent. Good day, Miss Kingsley."

"Good day to you, Captain. And thank you, for everything. Your help has been most valuable to me."

"It has been a pleasure, Miss. Goodbye," he saluted her, before turning around and heading back to the ship.

Before long, Alice found her chaperone and followed him to her carriage. He took care of her bags while she settled down inside, and soon after they were off. As they made their way out of the port and across the city Alice laid back against the comfortable seat and looked outside the window, lost in her own thoughts.

It felt good to be back, truly. Over a year and a half had passed since she had first set sail for Hong Kong, with the duty of expanding her father's business across the globe. Her mission had succeeded wonderfully. Thanks to the capable crew she had traveled with, they had done an excellent job marketing with the Chinese and now, finally, after having built an efficient and solid new business channel with the foreign country the time had come for her to return to her homeland. She had done her duty well, and business was stable enough that she could afford to go back and follow things directly from England for the time being.

The view had meanwhile changed from the city's grey setting to a landscape made of vast green meadows and large clusters of trees. Alice grinned.

She had missed it. Everything. She had missed her home, but most of all she had missed her family. Sure, her mother and sister had written numerous letters to her, and she had responded, but it was never quite like having them there with her. There had been quite a few times when she had felt rather discouraged of what she was doing, and had wished to have someone there to comfort her. She had been lucky enough to make a few good friends while she was away, but still: family was family. True, she had left also to prove herself to them, but it had never meant that she hadn't known right from the start that she would be missing them terribly – and she had.

But her family had not been the only thing Alice had missed so much during all this time.

Indeed, countless times she had woken up in the middle of the night in a distressed state, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. When this happened, she would awake with the sense of feeling lost, terribly lost and confused, as though she had forgotten something extremely important to her. It didn't take much effort for her to realize what that was.

Underland.

The name echoed inside her mind like the soft tinkling of bells. She sighed deeply. That name had held so many memories when she had left home so many months before. But time, it seemed, had decided to play tricks on her mind, because as the months had gone by all these memories that she held so dear had started to change without her wanting to. It was as if each new morning and each new sunset robbed another little piece of those memories, making it harder and harder for her to remember them correctly. And so, slowly but surely, day after day, night after night, Alice had begun to forget.

Not that she had forgotten about Underland _per se _of course. Why, she still dreamt of it each and every night when she fell asleep. But as it were, as the days had gone by every time she closed her eyes and let her own world take over the images she saw had started to become blurred, as though her mind couldn't quite recreate them properly.

She was thankful, however, that the one image she had been seeing in her dreams lately was clear and defined: she would always open her eyes to find herself lying under an enormous lilac tree, standing still to watch the light filtering through the thin branches and listening to the breeze whistling melodiously through the leaves. The sky above her would always be a clear azure hue, and although nothing much would happen she would always feel a sense of peace wash over her. This had always comforted her, especially in the days when she was feeling miserable or unhappy. It wasn't much of a dream, but it was her own little peaceful piece of paradise.

"_But now there's…something else_," she thought, frowning. Indeed, during the past few nights as they had begun to approach their destination her dream would be interrupted suddenly by another presence, one which she couldn't recognize.

The first night this had occurred, she had noticed because as she had been standing as usual under her tree gazing at a cloud drifting by she had suddenly felt a slight pressure on her shoulder, as though somebody had laid a hand on it. The contact had startled her awake, and it had taken her quite some time to calm her racing heartbeat and fall back back into a dreamless sleep.

The night after that, she was still having her usual dream until she had felt the presence manifest itself once again besides her, and had once more felt a hand rest on her shoulder. The contact had made another jolt of adrenaline rush through her veins, but this time she had managed to continue the dream a few seconds more: turning her head, she had managed to catch a glimpse of a human hand touching her shoulder before waking up.

The following night, the night before they had arrived in London, Alice had gone to sleep determined to figure out who it was that was invading her dream. Soon after she feel asleep, she opened her eyes to the familiar view of the lilac branches and blue skies and waited patiently for the contact to happen.

Sure enough, moments later she felt the presence appear besides her. Only this time, Alice didn't startle, and the dream wasn't interrupted. Instead, she relaxed, and she slowly began to take notice of other things: she realized, for instance, that she was not leaning against the tree's trunk like she had believed, but was in fact resting against somebody's chest. Curious to see how this would unfold, she had allowed the dream to carry on. Slowly, she felt the rest of the person's body form besides her. Looking up, she saw the shadow of a face set against the sun. She tried as hard as she could to see who it was, squinting her eyes against the light and trying to turn her head to get a better look, but every part of the body she could see was so blurred that she could barely make out it was a person. Sighing in frustration, she had looked back up with a start when she had heard her name echoing distantly in the wind.

"_Alice_…" her name had rung out again.

The figure's face had begun to lean in towards her, and Alice's eyes had widened with expectation…

And then, she had woken up.

And no matter how hard she had tried to force herself back to sleep and reconnect with that last moment, she had not been able to continue the dream.

The carriage came to a halt, pulling the young woman from her thoughts. Alice took a deep breath, briskly shooing the memories of the dream from her mind. She would think about that some more later on, she told herself. Now, she had other duties to attend to. The chaperone climbed down from his post and opened the door for her. Alice raised her gown slightly to step down on a familiar white marble path, and looking up, a very familiar site welcomed her eyes, and she smiled.

She was home.


	2. Chapter 2: The Use of Slumberberries

**A/N:** _A truly heartfelt ' Thank you ' to all of you who favored the first chapter! And many thanks to** xXWonderAliceLandXx **for submitting the first comment! Should the plot seem slightly confusing for now, just know that everything will be explained soon. Happy reading to all!_  
_And remember: today's reviews make tomorrow's update! ;)_

_Love to all,_  
_xxx – Kayla_

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**CHAPTER 2 : THE USE OF SLUMBERBERRIES**

"_Tarrant Hightopp!_"

The Mad Hatter's eyes popped open to the high-pitched screech. He frowned. _What in Witzend's name - ? _His glass-green orbs, slightly wider than usual, searched for the noise's source, and landed on the small figure of Mallymkum the Dormouse. She stood with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot and eyeing him with a stern expression.

"Mally – " he began, but he was cut off immediately.

"You've been using those _slumberberries_ again, haven't you?" the dormouse asked worriedly, rushing across the tea table - across which Tarrant had sprawled himself - and peering inside the empty tea cup tipped over in front of him. A thin layer of dark blue powder covered the cup's bottom, sparkling weakly in the dim light. Mallymkum shook her head and looked up at a still-groggy Tarrant with reproachful eyes.

"Oh, Hatter," she said, "We've been through this before, remember? You've tried this over and over again. You _know_ it isn't good for you! It just _isn't going to work!_"

"N-no, Mally, you're wrong! Terribly, wonderfully, exceedingly wrong!" Tarrant exclaimed, suddenly out of his sleepy daze, gesturing wildly with his hands to emphasize the point, "It worked! It worked!" He looked around suspiciously, as though worried somebody might be eavesdropping, then leaned in towards her, dropping his voice to a whisper, "I think I got it right this time! I crushed the right amount of berries, boiled them at the right heat at the right time, drank them, and then I - I was _there_! I was in her dream! With _her_!" He pulled back with a look of triumph on his face. His eyes, by now, were slightly bulging outward, and sparkling a most dazzling green.

Mallymkum sigh. "Yes, Hatter…that's what you said the last times you tried too."

"But - You don't understand!" he leaned back in with a swooping motion, "She _saw_ me! She was looking right at me! I could swear it, on my very own precious hat!" he beamed, simply radiant, and straightened himself up again. "Don't you see? I was finally able to get her to see me! This must mean that she's practically back home, it simply _has_ to! That's why is was so much easier for me to connect with her, she's getting closer! And now that I saw that she is doing fine, I'm feeling _much _better, and you know what's even _more_ marvelous?" The dormouse shook her head, and his smile grew even wider, "It means-_she remembers me!_ She hasn't forgotten! Isn't that grand?" he exclaimed, "And on top of that, now that I know that she saw me she's going to wake up and she's going to _also_ remember that she told me that she was supposed to be back before I knew it – and, well, technically speaking now I _do_ know when she'll be back, even though she didn't really tell me anything when I saw her, least of all when she was planning to return, but anyway – and this way, now I'll only have to wait a little bit longer for her to be back, and once she is –"

"_Hatter!_" the dormouse cried, exasperated by his rambling.

He closed his mouth and hung his head, looking bashful. "I…I'm sorry, Mally."

She shook her head as she straightened the empty teacup. "Oh, Hatter dear," she said, leaving the cup and sitting down in front of him, "It's all right, really. But you really _should_ understand, those berries _aren't_ good for your health, at all! I don't blame you for trying, of course. I know what you must be feeling –"

Tarrant's voice suddenly dropped dangerously low as he spoke in his Scottish accent, his eyes swiftly morphing to a bright amber. "You have _no_ _idea_ what I'm feeling."

"Hatter, I-"

"Who do you think you are, telling me off like this?" he growled, firing her an angry stare.

She shrunk back from him, "I was only trying to-"

Without listening, Tarrant suddenly leaped up from his chair and slammed his fists on the table, "What? What where you 'only trying to'? Trying to tell me that it's all useless, that I'm only fooling myself and that she's never coming back? Is that what you were 'trying to'?" he glared at her, "You have no idea. _Nobody _has _any_ idea what this - what it means… how it feels… how it hurts…" he hushed, the anger subsiding into misery, and he turned his back to the table, leaning on his chair for support and covering his eyes with his hand.

The dormouse was quiet for a moment, taken back from his outburst. "Tarrant… I didn't mean… I just don't want you to hurt yourself any more than necessary, that's all!" she spoke quickly, her tiny voice quivering. "I didn't mean to upset you!" Tarrant immediately regretted lashing out at her, and he forced himself to regain his composure, turning around to look at her again.

"Forgive me, Mally," he apologized, his eyes turning back to green and his voice now noticeably lighter. He sat back down, sighing deeply, "I know you didn't mean any harm. I'm sorry. It's just that… These berries, I think – I think they really work, truly. I know I've said it before, but the last times I tried I was only able to catch a glimpse of her, I was never able to fully connect with her through the dream, I was never able to really _see _her… to _be_ there, besides her… and to _feel _her, laying next to me…" his eyes were lost in the distance of the surrounding woods as he spoke these last words, and Mallymkum saw tears welling up inside them.

"Then, you know what?" she said in an effort to comfort him, getting up and sitting on his forearm. He looked down at her and she gave him a small smile, patting his hand reassuringly, "If you say it was real, then it's _real_." He returned her smile meekly.

"Thank you," he whispered, and she nodded in understanding.

They stood in silence for a moment as he lowered his gaze and discreetly wiped his sleeve over his eyes, before clearing his throat.

"Do you think – " he began, cautiously choosing the right words, "Do you think that – perhaps, then – she will return soon?"

"I'm sure hoping she will, Hatter," the dormouse answered earnestly, "Goodness knows we all need her to come back, after all."

Tarrant felt his stomach twitch uncomfortably.

"Of course," he responded, "How could I be so egoistical in a time like this?" he shook his head, "I know it's not _me _she should be coming back for, Mally. I know… She really should return as soon as possible – for the sake of all of us."

Mallymkum nodded her head solemnly, "Don't worry, Tarrant. You know we're all doing the best we can to find a way to send her a signal. We'll figure it out, you'll see. We have to. We can't lose our Queen like this."

"You're right." Tarrant's eyes stared off in the distance once again, his face turning serious, "You are absolutely right,Mally. Whatever we do to get her back, it better happen as soon as possible. Underland can't go through something as… _horrifying… _as that… that _bluddy behg hid," _he shuddered at the memory, shaking his head vigorously, "Not again. We vowed to keep our land safe, and that is what we're going to do."

Again, the dormouse nodded in agreement, before adding, "And even if we've done it before, it certainly won't hurt to ask for…a little help from _her _again."

At this, Tarrant couldn't help but grin, "That, my friend, is for sure."

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**A/N:** _So this might only be his first appearance, but I have to admit, Mr Tarrant is NOT an easy character to get into! I hope I portrayed him as close as possible to how he should be… Of corse,let me know if you think he's OOC! Thanks, xxx - Kayla_


	3. Chapter 3: Together Alone

**A/N:** _Thanks you for subscribing to the story! It's always great to hear from my readers, so thank you also to those who took the time to leave me a review. Everybody else, please don't hold back- just drop me a line! I'm insanely curious to know what you think about the story so far :)_  
_This next chapter is meant as a first look at Alice and Tarrant's different situations, in both the physical and psychological sense of the word._  
_Enjoy!_  
_xxx-_  
_Kayla_

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**CHAPTER 3 : TOGETHER ALONE**

"Goodnight, Alice."

"Goodnight, Mother. I'll see you in the morning!"

Sending her mother one last smile from across the hallway, Alice closed her bedroom door, gratefully reveling in the silence that now surrounded her. It had been a wonderful evening, with a dinner planned by her sister and mother that had welcomed their entire circle of friends, family and business partners, but although Alice had been happy to take part in it, the hectic welcome which came naturally with the ending of a long-termed absence had drained her of every ounce of energy she owned.

She walked across the room and opened the large windows, letting the cool rush of air that entered swoosh around her. It felt fresh and relieving against her skin. She closed her eyes for a moment and leaned onto the windowsill. She could hear the gentle rustling of leaves being dragged across the ground below and the hooting of a night owl somewhere in the distance. She opened her eyes again: it was a clear night, with a dazzling array of stars sparkling in the sky.

Then Alice frowned. Something was missing. And then she noticed. There was no moon.

"_Well_," she wondered, "_Those stars aren't complete without their moon, are they?"_

A sudden sting pulled at her heart, and she frowned again.

There was that familiar feeling again. Why did she feel so – and she felt rather silly saying this after the night she'd just had - alone?

She shook her head. What nonsense! She'd been surrounded by more people that she could handle for the past year and a half. She had been amongst all her loved ones until just a few moments before. What on Earth was she talking about? It didn't make any sense for her to feel alone.

And yet… She did.

She let out a sigh. She knew what this was about – or at least, she thought. It wasn't her family's affections or her business partner's attention which she lacked. It was another type of affection, another type of attention: the kind one could only find in a partner.

Alice rested her elbows on the windowsill and propped her head on her hands, looking up at the stars. Was this what she was she was truly missing, then? Love?

Something tugged at her stomach at the thought, and she took it as an affirmative answer.

Just before, at dinner, Alice had had a rather unpleasant encounter when she happened to bump into Hamish, the Lord who had proposed to her before she had left and whom she had rejected. At first, Alice had felt so self-consciously embarrassed that she had barely found the courage to mumble a shy '_Good evening, Hamish. It's good to see you again.'. _But then, quite unexpectedly, she had been met with a rather pleasant surprise when after an initially stiff greeting he had proceeded to presenting to her Prudence, or rather, as he had called her, '_the future Lady Ascot'_. Alice had felt enormously relieved at this revelation, first of all because it lightened the weight of her embarrassment considerably, and secondly because even though she truly believed that in no way could Hamish ever have been the man for her, she also thought he was a good man who deserved a good wife.

But now that she thought back about that moment, standing all by herself at the window, she felt a slightly sick sensation in her stomach, and she wondered if it had anything to do with envy. Not because of Hamish's fiancée, of course. More likely, because of the idea – or rather, the realization – that, while she had spent the past year and a half building a life of her own following her family's business, she had never stopped to consider something that was just as important.

So now it was Love that she was looking for, or so it seemed. Funny thing, she thought. She had traveled literally around the world in search of something that would make her feel fulfilled, satisfied, proud of herself… And she hadn't found anyone along the way. Somebody for her. Somebody to love.

During her voyage, she had closed numerous important business deals. She had obtained what she had hoped for, and she had felt extremely happy and satisfied with herself for having brought her father's vision to life.

But no matter how happy or satisfied she had felt, there had somehow always been a part – a very small part – of her that had never truly felt fulfilled, whatever she obtained or wherever she went. She figured that now that she had taken care of her father's dream and had returned home - and had therefore nothing else to worry about or take care of - that small feeling of loss just felt more important to her. The starlight and silence of the night just made it all seem worse. That was all. She fell the pull at her heart increase and she grimaced, closing her eyes.

And suddenly, she could feel something stirring inside her mind, a sort thick fog which prevented her from thinking clearly. She buried her head in her hands, trying to clear her mind. She began to feel dizzy, and for a moment she had to steady herself on the windowsill.

Love. Missing.

_Raven_.

Alice opened her eyes, blinking confusedly. A raven? Now what in Heaven's name did that had to do with anything? She blinked again. "_I must be more tired than I thought," _she told herself.

"_Oh well," _she thought dejectedly, shrugging, _"I guess it's no good mulling this over now. Might as well think about getting some sleep for the night, I'll have plenty more time to make myself miserable with these concerns from now on!" _she yawned, covering her mouth with her hand politely. _"Besides… my Underland's waiting!"_

Casting one last longing look up at the stars, she closed the window. She changed into her nightclothes and got into bed, putting out the bedpost lamp and crawling under a thick layer of soft blankets, snuggling deep inside her comfy cocoon. Her head sank into her pillow and she closed her eyes, peacefully sighing. The day's fatigue soon caught up with her, and she found herself drifting off to sleep almost immediately.

"_Oh, he's out there waiting for you, Alice," _she spoke to herself reassuringly, _"You just haven't met him yet. Who knows," _she added with another yawn, _"He might be closer than you think."_

* * *

Deep down in Underland, Hatter stood at his bedroom window, peering outside at the dark night. He looked up. Only the moon was shining in the sky.

"_Beautiful moon,_" he mused, "_Pity it's not quite as perfect without its stars. It looks so gloomy up there all by itself, so distant and cold, so -"_

His heart sank. Frowning, he lowered his head and took a deep breath. "- _alone_."

He turned his back to the window, surveying the empty room. Was it _always _going to be this way? He dared not believe he'd spend the rest of his eternity by himself, dozing off to sleep in an empty bed and waking up with no one by his side.

He silently walked over to his bed and sat down on the mattress, turning around and placing a hand on the other empty half, gazing longingly at the untouched covers as his hand gently grazed across the soft surface.

It hurt him even more to know that he knew exactly _whom_ he'd want to share the rest of his eternity with. "_Alice,_" he mumbled under his breath.

Adorable, amazing, astounding, amiable, absolutely Alice.

How, _how _could he have let her go? _How? _She had been _there,_ standing right in front of him, and he had let her go. She had hesitated – oh, yes, she _had. _He had seen it, he had seen the doubt in her eyes when he had told her to stay and she had stared at him for an interminably long moment with that bloody vial in her hands. And still, he had let her slip away. If only, if _only _he had done something to stop her…to stop her and to make her understand that she was making a huge mistake. _Anything_. Anything at all.

Because right then, he had known: she wanted to stay. For a single, magical moment, he had seen her hold her breath, her eyes desperately begging him to do something that would prove to her that what she was thinking was real. That it was not because of _the others _that he was asking her to stay – it was because of _him._ Him, and _him_ alone. And he had known: it would have taken _anything _at all – just the tiniest gesture – and she would have stayed. Cursed Jabberwocky blood. Cursed battle. Cursed whatever had held him back.

Cursed fate, that had brought her back to him after all those years, had completely overturned his world by changing his feelings towards her, and then had thought well of taking her from him and ripping his heart to shreds.

"_Fairfarren, Alice._"

And she was gone.

Why? _Why? _

As the last image of her flashed before him, hot tears formed in his eyes and began to streak down his face. He collapsed on the bed, burying his face in the crook of his arm. His hand, which still lay on the empty side of the bed, grasped the covers tightly as though he were desperately trying to hold on to something.

_Why, Alice? Why?_

His breath came in short gasps as the tears slowed down, and his heart felt as if it were burning right through his chest. How could he have known? How could he have ever predicted that something so wonderful could become so horrible all of a sudden? He hadn't planned this.

He hadn't planned any of this.

After she had returned and he had slowly realized that what he felt towards her had absolutely nothing to do with the friendship they'd shared before, he'd mentally beaten himself half to death thinking he'd lost it completely by even considering something as absurd as the possibility of anything everhappening between them. But once he'd made up his mind and accepted the way things had changed for him, the hard part had been making _her_ understand – before it was too late.

Quite honestly, he'd thought he'd done a pretty decent job the night they'd been alone on the balcony at the White Queen's castle, but…. evidently, it had not been enough.

Letting out a long, shaky breath, Tarrant turned on his side and stared in open space.

How many nights had he found himself like this? How many times had he begun to cry, without warning, for hours at a time, and always because of her? Without a soul to talk to, without a shoulder to cry on, without a gentle touch to comfort him?

How much longer was this going to last?

"_Be back before you know it."_

His heart ached as her words echoed in his mind. When, oh _when? _When was that going to happen? When would the pain go away? When would the time for him come?

When was Alice going to come back?

A ray of moonlight filtered through the window, bathing the space in front of Tarrant in a silver pool of light.

"_Come back, Alice," _he silently begged, "_Please come back to me."_

And then, feeling suddenly drowsy, he drifted off to sleep, his open hand still resting on the vacant place besides him.


End file.
